Council changes zoning for Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club of Austin is all clear to build its new flagship campus in northeast Austin. City Council voted on Thursday to adjust the zoning on the 10-acre parcel at 4717 Turner Lane to make way for the construction of the new facility. Council in fact took up two consecutive items dealing with the property. The first one would have changed the future land-use map, or FLUM, “from Higher Density Single Family, Transportation, and Commercial land uses to Civic land use.” Council Member Ora Houston, in whose District 1 the property is, noted that the change would conflict with the ongoing development of a neighborhood plan. She also added that denying the change to the FLUM would not deny the Boys and Girls Club’s right to build on the property. When staff validated her claims, attorney Steve Drenner, representing the club, said he was amenable to her motion to deny that change, a motion approved unanimously by Council. The second item related to the issue dealt with the requested zoning change, which Houston amended with several more restrictions on permitted uses. She also included a second amendment requested by the Boys and Girls Club to provide a 40-foot-wide access easement to Manor Road at Turner Lane. With the thumbs-up from Drenner, Council voted unanimously to approve the zoning change.